Work to live or live to work?
Recently, I met up with a friend who came back from her four months sabbatical leave. We went to Bar Stories at Haji Lane which was quite a cool place. Each of us had a specially concocted drink after we told the server how we feel, what we liked etc. And we started to tell our stories. The most interesting one was of course from my friend who just came back from South America.
My friend who went on the sabbatical (Wendy - not her real name) seems very inspired by her trip to South America. She spoke of the people she met, the sights she saw, the different experiences she had, and most importantly how this trip actually changed her mindset about life. I wouldn't want to travel like how she did for four months...because I like stability and I will miss Edwin and Toto very much, but I really thought it was inspiring to do something bold like that.
Then Wendy said that she met someone that travelled for five years and survived/funded her travelling by working at hostels. FIVE YEARS - that's a very long time. But this person made a choice - to work to live - and fulfil his dream rather than - to live to work - chasing endless desires (property, car, branded bags).
Some may eventually choose the road less travelled, to explore the world and fulfil their idealistic ambition of seeing as much of the world as possible. That will mean sacrificing the shield of security that wealth accumulation will provide you when you have a stable job, a stable environment (with friends and familiar faces). The question is "Are we willing to sacrifice these worldly wants?" I am supportive of individuals who wish to fulfil their lifetime goals and aspirations of travelling around the world. And, I really feel inspired. But perhaps I just don't have the guts to do the same. I like stability and familiarity. Yes, I don't mind an adventure or two at times but I still value stability.
And yes, Singapore being recently quoted as the richest country in the world (probably a figure skewed by a couple of extremely high net worth individuals - recall that one of the Facebook shareholders stays here - may mean that many others are "living to work", work takes up 60-70% of their time and they pursue wealth, material gains rather than happiness. But, I will constantly remind myself that I won't fall into that trap. It's good to have work-life balance, although I must say that I will spend more time at work - maybe 55%? Hee...
My friend who went on the sabbatical (Wendy - not her real name) seems very inspired by her trip to South America. She spoke of the people she met, the sights she saw, the different experiences she had, and most importantly how this trip actually changed her mindset about life. I wouldn't want to travel like how she did for four months...because I like stability and I will miss Edwin and Toto very much, but I really thought it was inspiring to do something bold like that.
Then Wendy said that she met someone that travelled for five years and survived/funded her travelling by working at hostels. FIVE YEARS - that's a very long time. But this person made a choice - to work to live - and fulfil his dream rather than - to live to work - chasing endless desires (property, car, branded bags).
Some may eventually choose the road less travelled, to explore the world and fulfil their idealistic ambition of seeing as much of the world as possible. That will mean sacrificing the shield of security that wealth accumulation will provide you when you have a stable job, a stable environment (with friends and familiar faces). The question is "Are we willing to sacrifice these worldly wants?" I am supportive of individuals who wish to fulfil their lifetime goals and aspirations of travelling around the world. And, I really feel inspired. But perhaps I just don't have the guts to do the same. I like stability and familiarity. Yes, I don't mind an adventure or two at times but I still value stability.
And yes, Singapore being recently quoted as the richest country in the world (probably a figure skewed by a couple of extremely high net worth individuals - recall that one of the Facebook shareholders stays here - may mean that many others are "living to work", work takes up 60-70% of their time and they pursue wealth, material gains rather than happiness. But, I will constantly remind myself that I won't fall into that trap. It's good to have work-life balance, although I must say that I will spend more time at work - maybe 55%? Hee...
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